6 crewmen safe, 3 missing as merchant ship sinks off Kota Tinggi

Maritime officers attending to those who were rescued from the ship. (Maritime Malaysia pic)

JOHOR BAHRU: Six crew members have been rescued while three remain missing after merchant vessel MV Amanda capsized and sunk in waters off Kota Tinggi this afternoon.

Johor maritime director First Admiral Aminuddin Abdul Rashid said the Maritime Rescue Sub Centre (Johor MRSC), under the Malaysian Maritime Enforcement Agency, had activated a search-and-rescue operation immediately after receiving a report on the incident which occurred at 2pm, 3.3 nautical miles east of Tanjung Sepang, Kota Tinggi.

“Based on information from the captain of the ship, MV Amanda suffered damage to the generator. This caused the ship’s wheel to stop functioning.

“The captain had done a ‘full astern’, but the ship could not retreat because the waves were too strong,” he said through a statement here tonight.

Aminuddin said the waves caused the vessel to collide with another vessel, causing MV Amanda to finally capsize and sink.

He said a search-and-rescue base was set up at the Pengerang Maritime Post near Kota Tinggi to coordinate the search for the three missing crew members. An update will be issued at 10am tomorrow. - FMT